The fact is that the fate of nations doesn't only depend on their relationships with the governments of other nations: it depends more than ever before on their relationships with international publics. Being admired by ordinary people in other countries makes a world of difference to a country, city or region, just as it does for companies and their products. That’s why the expressions which Simon Anholt first coined more than ten years ago – ‘nation brand’, ‘city brand’ and ‘place brand’ – are heard so often. But the similarities end there. Places can’t construct or manipulate their images with advertising or PR, slogans or logos – and although some governments spend large amounts of money trying to do just that, there is absolutely no proof that it works. As Simon Anholt often says, the only remaining superpower is public opinion - and we are all, in one way or another, talking about effective diplomacy with that superpower.